Equipment
Bridgestone J715 460 Driver
If you’re not a fan of companies that release several new drivers each year, Bridgestone’s philosophy could be music to your ears. The company’s new J715 460 driver is its first new model in four years.
“We want consumers to know that when we introduce a new club, it will always offer real tangible performance benefits,” said Josh Kinchen, Golf Clubs and Accessories Marketing Manager at Bridgestone Golf.
Bridgestone incorporated four new technologies into its new J715 460 driver that allow it to launch higher and spin less than its predecessor — the recipe for more driver distance.
The most important of those technologies could be the Flex Action Speed Technology (F.A.S.T) in the crown, which will help golfers launch the ball higher and faster. F.A.S.T. means that the crown is thinner near the face, and gets progressively thicker towards the rear of the club head. The construction allows the face to flex more at impact, imparting more spring-like effect to improve launch.
Since the crown is designed to add a little “give” at impact, the Flex Action technology increases what the company calls “repulsion,” which means the ball moves away from the face faster than before. Think about it like this — you can jump higher off a diving board than rock hard cement, right?
You know when it’s raining and your driver face gets wet, and you can feel the ball slip off the face and go astray? On most driver faces on the market today, this happens when it’s dry, too. When the ball slips around on the face during impact, it causes unwanted spin and amplifies the effect of off-center strikes.
Bridgestone’s power-milled face (see it magnified above) is said to reduce that unwanted slippage at impact by adding friction, which enhances the quality of compression while the ball is on the face and reduces spin by 200-to-300 rpm’s, according to Bridgestone’s robot testing.
Bridgestone also added its new Spin Flight Control Technology to the driver that allows golfers to adjust the center of gravity — golf’s hottest trend to increase distance. The J715 has two adjustable weights in its sole that allow golfers to customize CG — either more forward for less spin and more fade, or more rearward for more spin and more draw.
The J715 460 also has an adjustable hosel that can set the face angle 1 degree open or closed, and the lie angle can be set to standard, or 1- or 2-degrees upright.
The J715 driver ($399) will be in stores on Feb. 1, 2015 in lofts of 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 12-degrees for right-handers (9.5 and 10.5-degrees for lefties available April 1). The stock shaft is a Mitsubishi Fubuki ZT with a Yellow Golf Pride Tour Velvet Grip.
See more photos and read the discussion in the forums.
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Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra Tour Z5 65 M5
3-wood: Titleist GT2 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: MMT Utility 105 TX (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F), WedgeWorks (58, 60 @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 5.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot
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Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @8.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 70 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (14 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: Nike Vapor Fly Pro (3), Ping Blueprint S (4-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 Hybrid X (3), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 TX
Wedges: Ping Glide s159 (50-12S, 56-12S), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 125 Wedge S
Putter: Ping PLD Anser 2D Prototype
Grip: Garsen Golf Ultimate
Grips: Lamkin UTx Mid
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot
See the rest of Tony Finau’s WITB in the forums.
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM TI (14 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P7CB Proto (4), P7CB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (5-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-SBC)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @8.5) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 70 TX 3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond...
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Romanempire
Jan 19, 2015 at 10:21 am
I am excited for this product as I play and promote Bridgestone to the fullest. Driver down through the wedges along with the balls. They have been successful with their rise to #2 in the ball market, more importantly the gap they have built between themselves and the #3 ball company, so now they can focus on being a force in the club market. Product looks great and they are a great company!
denny c
Jan 14, 2015 at 9:58 pm
I have this driver and I love it. I wish it came with jdm tour ad mj shaft but then again i do not want to drop another 300+
jim b
Jan 7, 2015 at 1:46 pm
Love what I see and read about this club.Will probably be buying one in about two years when they are much cheaper and I recover from my daughters wedding expenses this July.Thanks & good luck.
Regis
Jan 7, 2015 at 1:25 pm
I’m hoping its distributed widely enough so I can at least demo it. By the way the photo of the crown when examined seems to show no leaves on the trees, snow on the windshield and the author wearing a stocking cap. Same here and it makes me want to demo the club even more.
Mike Honcho
Jan 7, 2015 at 1:03 pm
Did I eat too much peyote for Christmas??? Left handed??? Be still my beating, hallucinating melon.
Chris c
Jan 6, 2015 at 10:07 pm
I look forward to trying this driver. I hope that when it is actually released in North America that both weight ports remain adjustable. I had been looking forward to trying the Srixon 545 until they decided to only release a “dumbed down” version in North America.
leon
Jan 6, 2015 at 10:12 am
Nice club! I have the J40 irons and wedges in the bag but am hesitate to put the woods in. Their lie angles are way too much upright for me, plus a closed club face, man, I will keep searching the balls on the left side all day long.
Fred
Jan 6, 2015 at 11:23 am
All the J40 drivers I’ve seen sit dead straight (neutral). That’s one thing I love about them, so easy to align.
stripe
Jan 6, 2015 at 9:38 am
Would love to try it if any places had them.
Jonny B
Jan 6, 2015 at 8:40 am
This likely won’t reach the masses or sell in high numbers, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bridgestone clubs in a big box retailer – mostly seen them online or in pro shops.
I do applaud the shaft choice, I have a Fubuki ZT in my current Callaway driver and love the control it gives me. Heavier and stiffer than most stock offerings which actually will benefit the amateur golfer, help them keep it in the fairway more often.
Square
Jan 6, 2015 at 4:41 am
I’d put in the bag right now….nice!
other paul
Jan 6, 2015 at 1:55 am
Looks like a Callaway driver from the top to me…
slimeone
Jan 5, 2015 at 7:34 pm
I love Bridgestone and I’m sure this is a great driver but all this tech is old and already semi-redundant. TM just release their tech as soon as they can because they know that it gets old quickly. What is with the F.A.S.T acronym which sounds like the thick-thin face that others have been using for years? And the term “repulsion” sounds to me like COR.
I feel like Bridgestone Golf are pretty lazy and they don’t really care either way which I somehow respect. They also put out quality gear so it’s cool.